AuthorTopic: What constitutes "Closure", in the eyes of Tighar, as it pertains to Amelia (Read 4696 times)

Hello to all! As a long time observer of Tighar, and a fairly new member, I wanted to pose a question to liven up the message boards.

I actually worked on Linda Finch's Electra in Honolulu in 1997. She completed the trip Amelia was never able to, with a restored 1935 Lockheed Electra 10E. I had recently gotten out of the Navy and moved to Hawaii. As an aircraft mechanic, I was able to assist Ms. Finch while she stayed at our FBO.

So, here's my question:

What constitutues "closure" in the eyes of the the public-at-large, short of finding the remains of her Electra?

The TREMENDOUS body of evidence, accululated by Tighar on Niku over the years, has long since answered the question to me. It is hard for me to fathom that all of the evidence, when compiled and viewed, isn't enough to convince even the toughest critic.

More importantly, who's opinion is it that really matters outside of Tighar and its members?

What constitutues "closure" in the eyes of the the public-at-large, short of finding the remains of her Electra?

The public wants something simple. Something they can see and understand. Something like a photo that shows Amelia Earhart and Fred Noonan on a dock in the Marshall Islands with the Japanese ship behind them towing the barge carrying the damaged Electra. The public is less interested in scientific analysis of radio signals, fuzzy blobs in old photos, or bone measurements, even if published by a world class forensic anthropologist in a peer-reviewed scientific journal. They don't want to hear that Amelia Earhart was found in 1940 but was misidentified due to a botched British investigation. They don't want to hear that the Earhart Electra probably no longer exists except for some scattered, nearly impossible to find, pieces of wreckage

More importantly, who's opinion is it that really matters outside of Tighar and its members?

What a great question! To answer it we need to ask why it's important to understand what really happened in any historical occurrence. Why does it matter? It matters because, as the old saying goes, "Those who do not learn from the past are condemned to repeat it." Amelia Earhart was an iconic figure who continues to inspire, but what lessons should we take from the example of her life and tragic end?

Bill,I think Marty says it well - to me, the accumulation of evidence makes for a strong case that the Niku hypothesis is correct, but absent the physical remains of a body or an aircraft there will be those who cannot (or will not) accept it. I think history has taught us that if anything, history isn’t always neat and doesn’t come wrapped up with a bow on top. A prudent person would do their homework and build the case from what shards of evidence there are. I think TIGHAR’s done that in spades.That said, I’d love to see part(s) of the aircraft discovered. I hope the ‘embedded object’ mentioned in the Dec17 TIGHAR Tracks can be found again so the organization can either discount it or add it to the list of evidence.

Within the last 24 hours, on my social media feeds, I'm seeing headlines from various news media saying that AE's bones were found. This is obviously a result of the Jantz paper. I wonder if this will be the public-opinion tipping point.

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